MAKE IT REAL

As we start a new year with new goals, a little inspiration is in order. The following are the words to a song that is over twenty years old but the words could carry on as a salesperson's creed forever...

“You can always trust your
inner feelings ‘cause they
always tell the truth Where did
it get you then your analyzing
Just do what feels right for you

If you take life as a crazy
gamble Throw your dice, take
your chance You will see it
from a different angel and you
too can join the dance Make it
real not fantasy

Did you ever have a secret
yearning Don’t you know it
could come true Now’s the
time to set wheels turning
Open up to your life for you

As you know there’s always
good and evil Make your
choice, don’t be blind Open up
your mind and don’t be trivial
There’s a whole new world to
find.

Make it real not fantasy”


GIVE TO LIVE

Excerpts from the song by Sammy Hagar

“If you want love, you’ve got to give a little

If you want faith, you just believe a little.

If you want peace, turn your cheek a little.
”

These are especially strong words for us at this time of year. We are so fortunate to be employed when so many are not. We are so fortunate to enjoy a booming business while others are struggling.

So share the wealth at this time of year. Give to charity and those less fortunate.

You've got to give to love!

SAVE TIME AND KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY

Another great time saver and people pleaser is to explain the mortgage process to your borrowers. Keep in mind that the majority of them have only obtained a mortgage a few times in their life. Therefore, if you just take their application without explaining what will happen next, you are apt to leave them confused, less happy and likely to be calling you about a function in the process that you have nothing to do with.

By taking just a few minutes to explain how the process works, who does what and what the expected time frames are you will spend less time taking their calls and more time bringing in new happy customers!

DO YOU WANT TO UPGRADE YOUR PROCESSING?

Of course you do!

No matter how great your processing may be, it could always be a little smoother and faster right?

Fortunately, the Processors all agree, there is something all of us can do for an immediate upgrade.

TAKE A COMPLETE AND ACCURATE 1003!!!

It all starts with you, and if you do your part thoroughly in the beginning, you will avoid problems and delays in the end.

The second most common complaint about us from the Processors is that the files are not being turned in to them quickly enough. Don't expect one week processing when you sat on the file for the first three weeks. That is simply a recipe for failure and something that should never happen. In addition, it will undoubtedly upset the other Loan Officers who share the same Processor and do their job on time!

Taking lousy applications and/or not turning them in on time will not only cost you money but it can cost you friends as well!

PRICE VS TRUST

The next time you deal with a rate shopper, consider these important facts...

A recent FNMA survey showed that just 20% of borrowers selected a lender solely based on rate and price. The most common reason for selecting a lender was a referral from a friend or family member. Realtors and builders ranked second and third respectively as referral sources for lenders.

The reason for this is simple. Most consumers are willing to pay for service and trust. Most of us would not choose a doctor, lawyer, or contractor just because they are the least expensive. So keep in mind that the vast majority of the prospects you speak to have the same mindset, because behind every rate question, there is a question of trust!

TALKING ABOUT THE COMPETITION

Consider some of the political ads you have seen in the past. Think about how it made you feel to see politicians mud slinging and criticizing their opponent instead of telling us what they can do that is positive.

Talking about your competitors is generally a bad idea and criticizing the competition is definitely a bad idea! Nobody likes to hear it and derogatory comments reflect much more on the speaker than the accused. A much better alternative is to speak in positive terms about yourself and your company!

DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

Amazing as it may seem, most Loan Officers don't "do it right the first time". Despite the fact that we have all been told to do this our entire lives.

Doing it right means taking a complete, thorough loan application so you never have to see that loan again while it is in process. Incomplete and inaccurate loan applications will eventually cost you far more time (and money) than the time it takes to learn your profession and do it right. Not to mention the fact that you won't upset your customers and co-workers which tends to lead to better results in the future!

Rushing through an application, cutting corners, guessing at information when you can get facts instead, and relying on what the borrower said rather than the documentation they provide are just some of the ways Loan Officers sabotage themselves.

If you have been in the business more than two years and you have a hard time keeping up with 5-10 loans per month, chances are it all starts with your 1003s. Your applications and Good Faith Estimates are all that is left of your work by the time the loan is shipped. So take pride in them, they are a reflection of you!

GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT

This old computer phrase is very relevant to Loan Officers and the quality of the applications they take. Your customers and staff are relying on you to provide accurate information rather than sloppy work that someone else needs to fix. Take pride in you 1003's. Be sure and complete every item on every application and never guess at an answer.

By doing it right the first time, you will avoid costly, time consuming problems in the future, thus giving you more time to originate and less brain damage in the process!

8000 Hours

8000 hours, almost a half million minutes or about 4-5 years is how long an electrician must work to be considered a journeyman. At the one year point the electrician has just finished their first year of apprenticeship and they make 49% of their journeyman colleagues.

Apparently, however, to become a "Senior Loan Officer" is, electricians have to put in their time and thoroughly learn their trade to make the good money. Loan officers are not much different. They just have a more flexible job and no set pay scale.

Here in Colorado a journeyman makes $53,580 per year if they work forty hours all 52 weeks of the year. I bring this up to illustrate how fortunate we are to not have to punch the clock and not to have our incomes limited by a pay scale. If you spend time to actually learn your trade as well as the electrician, you could be a "Journeyman Loan Officer"!

KEEP YOUR BORROWERS HAPPY

The most valuable asset of an experience Loan Officer is their past clients. Doing everything you can to keep them all happy is not easy right now. If you deliver poor service now due to high volumes of business you run the risk of them looking elsewhere next time.

This has happened to all of us and usually we don't even realize it. Even a valuable repeat customer will be turned off, because you can bet that no matter how wonderful you have been in the past; their most recent experience with you is the memory they will take with them.

So do whatever it takes to keep them happy. Whether is means extending their lock at a cost to you, closing their loan yourself or working a little late to return their calls, you must keep your core clientele happy and not make excuses about being too busy. One day in the not so distant future you will wish you were this busy.

Just remember, you will stay busier in the slow times if you keep people happy in the boom times!

RELATIONSHIP SELLING PART 2

Relationship selling is complex because personalities are involved which is also what makes it so satisfying. Relationships of any kind take time and they are much more likely to flourish if both parties treat each other with the golden rule. Working with people you like is great fun. So the trick is to work with people you like and who will probably like you. 

Utilize people who like you to get you started with their colleagues and friends on a warmer note. And most importantly, earn their trust and expect it in return!

RELATIONSHIP SELLING

Being a Loan Officer requires the ability to inspire trust in others.

Think about what makes you trust another person. We trust others either because we know them or someone we know trusts that person. There is no other basis to trust another person. We don't trust a stranger who we just met two minutes ago or a telemarketer we can't even see.

This is exactly why the first time you call on a Realtor or Builder they are not going to business with you unless someone they trust recommends you. Even then, one sales call or conversation, is still not likely to win them over. Chances are it will take at least five contacts with that Realtor/Builder before sufficient trust is established for them to trust you with their customers and their paychecks. Also, your chances for success with that person are increased dramatically when someone they know trusts you. 

 

RETURN YOUR CALLS

No matter how busy you may be, your customers all want attention. Being busy may be the reason you can't return all of your phone calls the same day. However, it is no excuse, and we have talked recently about how weak excuses are anyway.

Put yourself in their shoes. Your customers don't really care if you are busy or not. They want what they want, regardless of how busy you may be that day. Think of the last time you called a service provider who didn't return your call or took way too long. Hopefully you dumped them and found someone else which is exactly what will happen to you if you don't call back in a timely fashion!

Remember, the number one complaint consumers have about Loan Officers is not having their calls returned quickly. This means that maybe the number one thing you can do to improve your business may be simply returning your calls!

OPPORTUNITY COST PART 2

By losing a loan you will most likely lose future business from that customer. You could also lose out on future referrals from that customer or any other party involved in that transaction that you may have had a chance to impress. Plus referral sources can multiply exponentially. Who knows, by doing one loan for that one person you may later get a referral from someone who ends up being you biggest customer. If you ask any successful originator they will tell you that most of the business they have today can be traced back to meeting just a few people over the years who told two friends, who told two friends, and so on.

The key here is that just one loan could open so many doors for you in the future that you don't want to lose any if you don't have to. I know we are all supposed to try and be profitable on each and every transaction, but sometimes sacrificing some or all of your commission on a loan can pay huge dividends in terms of future business!

OPPORTUNITY COST

The cost of not doing a loan can be tremendous when you think of it in terms of possible benefits and/or opportunities in the future. First we will start with the obvious...

By not doing a loan obviously lost out on a commission. You also may have needed that particular loan so that you would hit a higher volume level for the month which could increase the amount you made on every other closed loan that month. There is also the possibility that a lost loan could have been the one that gets you qualified for the production trip or the President's Circle.

The real opportunity cost, however, is losing out on future chances to do much more business just from that one loan. 

 

CALL RELUCTANCE

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for most salespeople is call reluctance. Call reluctance is when we dread seeing the people, making the phone calls and asking the questions we should. Therefore we procrastinate, make excuses to ourselves and find other things to do. Making sales calls involves a certain amount of emotional risk because of the fear of rejection. Rejection, however, is a part of life and sales. If you don't get rejected at least a few times, you definitely aren't trying hard enough.

As human beings, no one enjoys rejection, but the rewards a salesperson can reap from enduring a small amount of rejection are enormous. Think of it this way. You could contact 10 prospects and be rejected 70% of the time which means you were successful with three prospects. This is obviously better than contacting 2 prospects and being successful 50% of the time. 

OPTIMISM

In his Creed for Optimists, Christian Larsen tells us...

  • Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
  • Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to everyone you meet.
  • Make all your friends feel there is something special in them.
  • Look at the sunny side of everything.
  • Think of only the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. 
  • Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
  • Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
  • Give everyone a smile.
  • Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others.
  • Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.